Date of Graduation

8-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Electrical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Ang, Simon S.

Committee Member

Balda, Juan C.

Second Committee Member

Mantooth, H. Alan

Keywords

Applied sciences; Silicon carbide

Abstract

In power converter applications, silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices are preferred over their silicon counterparts due to many advantages such as wide bandgap, high junction temperatures and low on-state resistance. The SiC devices provide reduced conduction and switching losses. Due to the above mentioned advantages the power conversion efficiency of SiC devices is better compared to that of silicon (Si) devices.

This thesis studies the implementation of 1200V/17A Normally-off SiC JFETs for an indirect matrix converter (IMC) application. A discussion on the parasitic inductance optimization is presented based on the electromagnetic simulation results extracted from the Ansoft Q3D extractor. The thermal analysis for the modules is performed using Dassault system SolidWorks 3D CAD tool to obtain optimized designs under working conditions. The IMC consists of both Inverter and Rectifier Power modules which are externally connected with a dc link. Each switching path is carefully analyzed and thereby the designs and layouts are minimized to have the least parasitic circuit elements on those IMC modules. A discussion on the conduction losses is described based on Q3D simulations.

The two modules were fabricated using a direct bond copper (DBC) substrate. The procedure for building the modules are explained along with the materials used. The fabrication steps with respect to designing and processing the module are detailed. Finally, tests are conducted for the IMC converter. The results obtained thus demonstrate the operation of IMC modular prototypes.

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